ELECTION: Runoff in the offing

Voter turnout just 15.6 percent; Mayor, SMD1, SMD5 undecided

Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times
Kendall Hirschfeld checks out early voting results with his campaign manager Steve McLaughlin at Miss Hattie’s Cafe and Saloon. Just after 7 p.m. Saturday, Hirschfeld led the mayoral race with 1,704 of the 4,118 votes cast, or 41.38 percent.

Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times
Dwain Morrison and his wife, Vicki Morrison, turn their eyes to the stage outside the O.C. Fisher Federal Building during a blues festival Saturday evening as they waited for early voting results. Morrison, one of three mayor candidates, had 1,331 of the 4,118 votes cast — or 32.32 percent — just after 7 p.m.$RETURN$$RETURN$

SAN ANGELO, Texas - One down, two left.

Saturday's election for mayor had the effect of eliminating one of the three candidates, leaving voters with a runoff election June 15.

Kendall Hirschfeld drew the highest vote total, but it wasn't enough for a clear victory.

Dwain Morrison and Paul Alexander were neck and neck for second place as the vote totals rolled out during the evening, with Morrison leading by 6 percentage points when early voting and mail-in ballot results were released just after 7 p.m.

With the release of the first Election Day totals for 12 of the city's 34 precincts, the two were within 1 percent of each other, but the second batch of results for 24 precincts put Morrison ahead by 3 percentage points. Hirschfeld's support, meanwhile, had dropped below 40 percent.

When the final results came in, Morrison survived by a mere 115 votes.

"I feel good; I feel very blessed," said Dwain Morrison, after the news that he would be in the runoff election with 31 percent of the vote for mayor. "I feel very humbled that people thought enough of me to give me the vote and give me the opportunity. I'm humbled."

Morrison said he already received several calls of support and people offering suggestions for the coming race.

"I've got a very good support system," he said.

Excited for round two, Morrison said he is ready to run again.

"Giddyup," he said.

Paul Alexander, who came out of the mayoral race with 29.4 percent of the vote, said although he will not be in the runoff election and will no longer serve on the City Council, he will be involved as much as possible.

"I won't stop. I'm going to move forward," he said. "I still want to keep on with water."

Having done considerable research on water, the city's most important issue, he said he hopes to continue helping to find a solution.

"I always look at things in a positive way," he said. "I'll have a lot more time with family and work."

Hirschfeld, reached after the final results were announced, said: "I am about to call it a night. I am wiped out. I am so humbled by all the people who came out and voted for me. Words can't even describe it."

The three mayoral candidates all came from council seats, adding two Single Member District unexpired terms to the ballot and drawing a host of candidates in an election to decide city leadership as San Angelo enters an era bookended by a water crisis and the prospect of sudden growth from an influx of oil exploration and extraction. There were 19 candidates on the ballot.

Despite the crowded ballot and plethora of issues, the election drew an indifferent turnout of voters: 8,060 of 51,550 registered voters, or 15.64 percent, lower than either of the past two local elections, November 2009 and May 2009, that had large numbers of candidates.

The mayor question won't be the only one on the ballot in the June 15 runoff. In Single Member District 1, Rodney Fleming and Trinidad Aguirre will run again after voters in the district failed to give either a clear majority. At the end of the night, Fleming led by 103 votes. The other two candidates in SMD1, Bill Richardson and Robert Banskter Sr., gathered a combined vote of nearly 19 percent.

"It was expected," Aguirre said. "I knew it was a very, very tight race. I was hoping the results would be more favorable, but I knew it would require a runoff."

Aguirre said he is prepared to run again and is working on the strategy for his runoff campaign.

"I'm going to ask the voters to come out and vote again," he said.

"I wish it would have been finalized tonight," Fleming said with a laugh. "I definitely was not expecting that."

He said he hopes the people who voted during this race would come out and vote for him again.

"I appreciate all the people that did vote and who helped me run my campaign," he said. "I definitely did not do it by myself."

Voters in SMD5 will also return to the polls June 15 to choose between H.R. "Winkie" Wardlaw III and David McBride. In the four-way race, Wardlaw had barely 50 percent when early voting results were announced, and his lead as the night wore on eroded to just 51 votes over David McBride, leaving him with a final cut of 43.5 percent to McBride's 40.1 percent. The other two candidates, Barbara Pratt and Barry Gambrell, received a combined vote of just more than 16 percent.

"I had hoped to end this tonight, but I'm real pleased to do as well as I did against a formidable opponent," McBride said.

Wardlaw was not available for comment.

Gambrell said he found the experience of running for office encaging.

"I enjoyed the election process and making new friends in my community. Thanks for your encouraging support. Congrats to H.R. ‘Winkie' Wardlaw, III," he said.

Clear voter decisions came out the remaining districts.

Marty Self, a businessman and former council member, secured 66.9 percent of the vote in SMD2, Jim Turner received 14.17 percent, and Joe Grimes took 18.9 percent.

"I'm still excited to even have gotten 43 percent," Ayana said after final results were posted.

She believes when doors close for some reason, others are opened and she'll continue to look for those opportunities. Another campaign may be in her future.

"Oh, yes, I would run again in a heartbeat," she said. "Teamwork is still my top thing and unity among the voters," she said. "That's what I've learned — make sure everybody is on the same page as to what we need and what they want as voters. And the voters have spoken tonight."

Vardeman was encouraged by the number of candidates in all elections because "that's what democracy is all about" and what our country was built on.

"I'd just like to tell everyone thank you and I'm very humbled by their support," he said to those who turned out to vote. "I also want to thank Sally because she has a great heart and is a good Christian woman. It was an honor to run with her."

He's looking forward to serving on the council and tackling the issues he highlighted during his campaign — water, roads and bridges and "getting every penny out of all tax dollars to the best benefit of the citizens."